The Life and Death of Claire Smith
by Shift 1120
Summary: Body of Proof Case fic, with LOADS of Megan/Peter, as well as a few Lacey and Megan moments. Other characters feature also, Bud, Sam, Ethan, Curtis, Kate and Todd. T for now, may get more adventurous, but probs not.
1. Chapter 1

**I've done the best I can with this, but since I've only watched the first two episodes and read summaries of the rest, I don't know the characters very well yet. I hope they're not OOC.**

Dr Megan Hunt, Medical Examiner extraordinaire, flexed her fingers in irritation, and, though she would never admit it, pain. Her pen clattered to the floor and she cursed, rubbing the sore appendages. Peter glanced up from the x-ray of the victim's body.

"Are your hands hurting you again?" he asked, bending down to reach the scalpel.

"They're fine," Megan scowled.

"Whatever you say Megan," Peter held his hands up in surrender, "What do we know?"

"Our victim is a Caucasian female, twenty to thirty years old, blond hair, brown eyes, five foot eight inches," Megan recited, "No ID yet, but Ethan is running DNA. She keeps fit, and has regular manicures and pedicures. Remodelled fracture on the left arm suggests it was broken about a year ago, and there are fresh bruises on her stomach."

"The victim was found in a hotel room with no clear cause of death," Peter continued, "Sam and Bud are working on an ID."

"Good," Megan swore again as a twinge of pain flashed through her again, clenching and unclenching her hands, "Damnit."

"Come here," Peter ordered, forcibly pulling her towards him, grasping her small hands in his large ones. Gently, Peter massaged her hands, making sure not to push too hard, just moving the muscles around and encourage the blood to flow.

"Better?" he asked, his voice low and rough.

"Much," she whispered, carefully extracting her hands from his, smiling, "Thanks."

"My pleasure," Peter glanced at the victim, "So, have you opened her up yet?"

"No," Megan scowled again, "Kate ordered me to wait for an ID."

Peter wisely said nothing, the relationship between Megan and her boss were still strained since the former had discovered the relationship between Kate and Todd.

"So, we have about an hour and a half to kill," Megan glanced at her watch, "I'm going to do paperwork."

"I'll join you," Peter agreed, following her back to her office, "I'm backed up already, and this case hasn't even started."

Megan sat at her desk and reluctantly pulled out the forms she needed to sign from their last case. Marcus Trent, twenty three years old, had been murdered by a team member, Bradley Johnson, who wanted to be team captain of their football team.

"The things people will kill for," she murmured, shaking her head in disbelief, "Marcus was leaving the team, he only had to wait two months!"

"Agreed," Peter nodded grimly. They worked in silence, occasionally referring to one another for a detail they had forgotten.

"Dr Hunt," Ethan called, barrelling into the office, "I have an ID,"

"Excellent," Megan rose from her desk, "Come on Peter, don't take all day,"

"I'm coming Megan," Peter grumbled, "Has it been an hour and a half already?"

"It took less time because our victim was in the system," Ethan explained, "Claire Smith, aged twenty six. Her husband died four years ago, leaving her with their son, who is now six."

"And no one noticed his mother was missing?" Megan asked incredulously, leading the way back to the autopsy lab, "Call Detectives Morris and Baker, tell them to look for the son. Maybe the killer took him."

"On it," Ethan left, then turned back, "Before I go, Claire was attending the James Murdoch University, studying Law."

"Thank you Ethan," Megan pulled on her scrubs and latex gloves, scalpel in hand, "Alright Claire," she began the first incision, "Let's find out what killed you,"

* * *

><p>"Claire Smith was poisoned," Peter informed Sam and Bud, down at the station, "Megan found trace elements of Alenothate in her mouth and stomach. Alenothate works within ten to fifteen minutes, so she couldn't have been poisoned far from where she was found. If I had to guess, I'd say she was poisoned in her room. There is no sign of her six year old son, Jamie Smith."<p>

"There aren't any cameras covering the hallway," Bud sat at his desk, "But they have three on the car park. Has your genius medical examiner found time of death?"

"She says Claire died from 1:30am to 2:30 am this morning," Peter paused, "I'd appreciate if you'd give my partner a little more respect. Her name is Dr Hunt."

Sam elbowed Bud hard in the ribs as Peter walked out, "Honestly, you need to learn to work with her. Or at least stop insulting her in front of Peter."

"That man has got it bad," Bud agreed, "Ok, let's find Claire Smith's next of kin."

"And her son," Sam added grimly.

* * *

><p>"I'm so sorry for your loss," Megan told Dana Smith, Claire's mother, "Could you tell us more about Claire?"<p>

"Uh," Dana swallowed painfully, eyes filling with tears, "She, uh, was a strong girl. When her husband, Nathanial, died, she looked after Jamie all by herself, working two jobs to support them. Jamie is her son, he's six. Who is looking after him? Where is Jamie?"

"We don't know Mrs Smith," Peter told her reluctantly, "We'd hoped he was with you."

"Oh no," Dana lowered herself shakily to the couch, "Oh God, Jamie!"

"We will do our very best to find your grandson Mrs Smith," Peter assured her, "Do you know anyone who would want to hurt either Claire or Jamie?"

"Um," Dana shuddered, "She had started dating again, Tom. I don't know his last name. Claire said that it finished pretty badly,"

"Do you have a description?" Megan asked, "Or do you know how she met him?"

"They met at university," Dana shrugged helplessly, "Claire is studying, I mean she studied Law at James Murdoch University. Maybe he's in one of her classes?"

"Thank you Mrs Smith," Megan smoothly finished the interview, recognising that Dana Smith was too shocked and grieved to give any more useful information, "Call us if you have any more details please."

"Keep me informed," Dana pleaded, "Please,"

"We will," Peter agreed.

* * *

><p><strong>Neither Alenothate, nor James Murdoch University exist (though there is a James Cook University, and a Murdoch University in Australia, where I live), I didn't want to stuff up the details of the poison or the university, so I made my own up. Next chapter in the next few days!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two. Again, hope they're not OOC. Thanks to the three people who reviewed, you time means a lot to me :)**

The police station bustled with activity, officers and detectives hurried around the room, each searching for a clue to their particular case. The room smelt of stale coffee and stress, gathering in the corners and giving the station a disquiet feeling. Not that Megan noticed, or cared.

"Alenothate is a fast acting poison," she told Bud and Sam, "It has to be ingested or injected for it to take effect, it diffuses through the stomach lining into the bloodstream and neutralises the haemoglobin in blood, effectively cutting off oxygen supply to the brain, and the rest of the body."

"It can take anywhere between 5 to 10 minutes to die," Peter elaborated, "This murder was done in cold blood, Alenothate poisoning isn't a pleasant way to die."

"Is any way pleasant," Bud retorted, "Alright, we have Missing Persons Unit looking for Jamie Smith, so far they've come up with only one suspect, a Thomas Lener, who studied with the victim at university. We have witnesses who reported him picking up the kid from day-care."

"Why haven't they brought him in?" Megan demanded.

"We can't find him," Sam's eyes narrowed in irritation, "He's gone off the radar, no credit cards used, his phone is switched off, and he hasn't logged on to the internet since this morning, when the victim died."

"Damn," Peter swore, "Where's his current address?"

"We're waiting on a warrant now," Bud smirked, "Should come through any minute."

As if on cue, the detective's phone chirped with a message.

"We're good to go," Sam stood and moved off to the car park, "Well, are you coming?"

* * *

><p>Thomas Lener's apartment was your stereotypical bachelor's sleeping space. Discarded pizza boxes littered the floors or all rooms, accompanied by empty beer cans and crisps. Cheap furniture filled most rooms, with an exception for the king sized bed and the large plasma tv.<p>

"Clearly if Claire and Tom were dating, they were doing it at her place," Megan announced dryly.

"Uh huh," Peter gingerly moved a basket of used underpants so he could access the bedroom. The door opened with a drawn out squeal from a horror movie, matched by the grisly scene found inside.

"Megan, Bud, Sam," Peter's voice reverberated through the house, "You need to see this."

Blood painted the bedroom red, caked on the wall and lying in pools on the floor. A bloodstained knife lay inches from the mutilated body of Tom Lener. Megan knelt gently beside the body, conscious of the blood surrounding him.

"Body temperature has cooled," she said, "I would guess that he was killed after Claire herself. Cause of death appears to be bleeding out from multiple stab wounds, but I'll know more when I get him back to autopsy."

A soft whimper drew their attention to the closet. Blood spatter seemed relatively minimal compared to the rest of the room, but the two detectives and medical investigator raised their guns so they pointed to the doors, Peter moving to stand in front of Megan.

"Come out with your hands up," Bud ordered. Another whimper escaped the closet. Megan glanced up sharply. She dodged Peter, ignoring his muffled exclamation, and flung open the doors, revealing a small boy cowering underneath some coats.

"Jamie," Megan softened her voice so as not to frighten the child, "My name is Megan, I'm with the police,"

The boy didn't answer, but his shivering lessened, "You're policemen?"

"I'm not, but they are," Megan pointed to Peter and the others, "But I need you to come with me now so we can clean you up,"

"You promise you're not going to hurt me?" the boy whispered.

Megan held out her hand, her littlest finger extended, "I pinkie swear Jamie,"

"Well," he smiled shyly, "If you pinkie swear," the boy entwined his finger with hers and shook firmly, before moving to his feet and clasping Megan's hand.

"Let's get you back to the police station," Megan ruffled Jamie Smith's hair.

* * *

><p>"An' my teacher told me that dinosaurs lived billions of years ago!" the boys eyes widened to the size of saucers, his legs swinging wildly from the chair he sat on, "Can you imagine? Billions of years! I'm only six years old!"<p>

"Imagine that," Megan murmured glancing around for Peter. He'd left her in an interrogation room with Jamie until Dana Smith could come and pick him up. She wished he would hurry up, it was only a matter of time until –.

"Can I see my Mommy now?" Jamie suddenly asked. Megan froze, eyes filling with sadness.

"Do you know what happens when people die?" she asked Jamie slowly.

"They go to Heaven," Jamie answered, "Daddy's in Heaven. Mommy says that they can't come back, but they're always watching you."

"Jamie," Megan hesitated, "I need to tell you something. Mommy's in Heaven too."

"No she's not," Jamie protested, "I saw her yesterday night."

"She's in Heaven now," Megan watched the boy's eyes fill with tears, her own heart aching with his pain. Jamie threw himself at her, sobbing into Megan's shoulder, his whole framing shaking with his grief.

"Why did she have to go?" Jamie wailed, "I don't want her to go."

Peter entered the room with a relieved Dana. Jamie removed himself from Megan and clung to his grandmother.

"She's gone Grandma," he cried, "Miss Hunt told me."

"What did you tell him his mother was dead?" Dana hissed.

"He asked me where she was," Megan met the other woman's eyes, "I wasn't going to lie to him."

Dana sighed, "I understand Dr Hunt," her shoulders sagged under the weight of the world, "If there's nothing else, I'd like to take my grandson home?"

"Of course Mrs Smith," Peter opened the door for her, eyes meeting with Megan's as he followed the mourning family out.

* * *

><p>Sitting back in her office chair, Megan sighed, rubbing her face with her fists. Leaning back, she groaned as her spine snapped back into place.<p>

"It's been a long day huh?"

Megan jumped, "Peter, you startled me,"

"Sorry," he apologised with a small smile, "What were you thinking about?"

"Claire," she replied, "Why was she in a hotel room? And why would she leave her son with a man she knew only from class?"

"Maybe she was desperate?" Peter suggested, "Or she knew someone was after her? What did you find from Tom Lener's body?"

"Just as I anticipated at the scene," Megan shrugged, "He died at approximately 5am to 6am this morning, about four hours after Claire Smith was murdered. Cause of death was multiple stab wounds, six to be exact. One severed the aorta, which carries blood from–."

"The left ventricle to the rest of the body," Peter finished, "He would have bled out in minutes."

"I think that Claire's murder was planned," Megan told him, "The murderer spent weeks perfecting his plan so that it was fool proof. Tom's murder was hasty, and done out of panic, not necessity. He obviously knew something that he shouldn't."

"It's late," Peter grabbed his coat from where he'd lain it across a chair, "We can talk to Tom's friends at the university tomorrow, go home Megan. Get some sleep."

"You too," Megan order, rising to her feet and slinging her handbag over her shoulder, "Goodnight Peter,"

"Night Megan."

* * *

><p><strong>And on that bombshell (I love Top Gear btw) goodnight to you all<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok, third chapter. I should be listening to my Physics teacher, but as we're discussing the test that I failed, I'm going to tune out and drown my sorry in the world of Dr Megan Hunt. And, because I'm so depressed, I'm going to write a bit of Megan/Peter. Don't freak, I'm going to keep it T.**

* * *

><p>Toeing off her high heels, Megan groaned in relief. Flicking the switch, low, gentle light flooded the room. She'd left the heater on when she left that morning, so the apartment was at a pleasantly warm temperature. Running a tired hand through her hair, she lowered herself onto a couch, and allowed her eyes to slip closed.<p>

"_Megan, why are you still here?" Peter's amused voice drew her out of her reverie, and she glanced at him, lounging against the door to her office. His blue eyes pierced hers in a look so intense she had to glance away._

"_I was just finishing up," Megan protested, gathering her papers up, "What are you doing here?"_

"_Looking for you," his voice deepened, gaining a husky quality. Megan shivered, her eyes meeting his again._

"_And why were you looking for me?"_

"_To do this," Peter pulled her against his body and slanted his mouth over hers, claiming her lips in a kiss full of desire and love. Megan moaned, opening her mouth and tangling her tongue with his. The kiss ended, and Megan rested her forehead against Peter's. _

"_Megan," he began hoarsely, "I –."_

"Mom," Lacy's voice invaded her dream, "Are you here?"

"On the sofa," Megan called out groggily.

_Where the hell did that dream come from?_ She thought, getting to her feet, body still flushed with arousal.

"Hey Mom," Lacy glanced at her mother, "Wow Mom, you look like crap,"

"Thanks Lacy," Megan replied sarcastically, then sighed, "It's been a long day. What are you doing here?"

"I had a fight with Dad," she shrugged, pain flashing across her face, "I needed to get away. Am I cool to stay?"

"As long as you want," Megan smiled warmly, "You're bed is all made up. I'm going to bed ok?"

"Ok," Lacy gestured towards the living room, "Is it cool if I watch TV for a bit?"

"Sure," Megan called from the hallway to the bedrooms, "Night Lace."

"Night Mom,"

* * *

><p>"Are you ok?" Peter confronted Megan in the lab's kitchen while she was on her lunch break, "Are you avoiding me?"<p>

The medical examiner sighed, but she'd known that avoiding Peter couldn't last forever; he was always going to notice.

"No, why would you think that?" she tried anyway.

"Don't play dumb with me Megan," Peter cornered her, trapping her against the kitchen counter.

"I'm not," Megan cried, trying not to draw parallels with her dream, "And I'm not avoiding you."

Peter huffed, and she knew that he didn't believe her. Quickly, she shot him a pleading look, so he let it go, barely.

"I'm about to head out to question Tom and Claire's friends," he changed the subject reluctantly, "Would you like to come?"

"Go without me," Megan told him, "And no, I'm not avoiding you! I have to go home and see if Lacy's ok, she had a fight with Todd, but she was asleep when I left this morning."

"I'll call you with the details," Peter eyed her carefully, "Give Lacy my best,"

"I will," Megan replied, sweeping out of the room.

Peter ran a hand through his hair in frustration. Megan was pulling away from him, and he didn't know why, or how to stop it. Quickly, he reviewed everything he had said or done yesterday, but he couldn't come up with any reason why she would be angry with him.

"Is there a reason you're standin' in the middle of the kitchen?" Curtis complained loudly, "Come of us actually have to eat ya know."

"Sorry," Peter hid a smile, "I was just thinking."

"You think I don't know that," Curtis bustled around the kitchen, grabbing cups and plates, "What have you got to think about? That Dr Hunt of yours has me running samples like I've no life!"

"What kind of samples?" Peter asked, ignoring the pleasure he felt at having Megan referred to as his, "She didn't mention any to me."

"Oh, just some fluid found on both the victims," Curtis waved a hand, already leaving the kitchen with his sandwich, "She said she'd wait until she knew it was important to tell you. Anyway, ain't you got somewhere to be?"

"I'm on my way," Peter replied, hands raised in surrender, "Good luck with those samples,"

"Hmph," Curtis replied through his sandwich.

* * *

><p>Tom and Claire's friends waited nervously inside a private room at the university, some pacing and fidgeting, others silently and still. One guy caught Peter and Sam's attention. He stood, yelling at the receptionist that he didn't have to put up with this, and that his father will be speaking to her about her job. Peter's lip curled in disgust.<p>

"I hate people like him," Sam grumbled, "I suggest we take him last, give him a bit longer to wait."

"No," Peter disagreed, "He's nervous, frightened. He knows something. Have uniform interview everyone else, we'll take him."

Sam relayed his orders into her walkie talkie, and gradually the room emptied, until only the red faced teenager remained. Sam got his name from one of the teachers hanging around, and they entered the room.

"Kyle Lemming?" Peter asked, his voice deceptively mild, "Could you come with us please?"

"About time," Kyle Lemming snarled, "How dare you leave me here, do you know who I am?"

Sam ignored his question, gesturing to a chair, "Sit down please Mr Lemming."

Kyle threw himself down on the chair in disgust, "What do you want."

"We want to talk about Thomas Lener," Peter glared at the boy, causing him to wilt slightly, "You were friends with him?"

"What idiot told you that," Kyle snorted, "That wanker, I hate his guts. Always holier than thou, ya know, him and his bitch girlfriend, Claudia or something. The two of them were always tattling on something."

"Tattling?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," Kyle sighed, "Hypothetically, say that a person was providing certain substances to the school community. Along come two goody two shoes who decide to tell the Head of University. Jerks."

"Claire and Tom are dead," Peter told him, "Murdered. Anything to say Mr Lemming?"

"Good riddance," Kyle smirked, "I didn't kill them, but good riddance."

* * *

><p>When Megan arrived home Lacy was watching TV while eating her toast. Glancing at the TV, Megan smiled to see a triangle headed boy build a rollercoaster with his rectangle headed brother.<p>

"Aren't you a little old to be watching Phineas and Ferb?" Megan asked.

Lacy jumped and quickly changed the channel, smiling sheepishly, "Yes, yes I am," she replied, "I thought you were at the lab?"

"I came back to see you," Megan sat down on the arm of the couch, "Do you want to tell me about it?"

Lacy sighed, "I'm having trouble with Math at school," she mumbled.

"Having trouble or all out failing?" Megan asked shrewdly.

"All out failing," Lacy admitted, "And Dad says I haven't been working hard enough! I spend an hour on Math every night!"

"And how long do you spend practicing your riding technique or theory?"

Lacy blushed, "About two hours a night, plus an hour lesson a week,"

"I think you are working as hard as you can on Math," Megan began, "But I also think that you could push yourself a bit more. What about getting a tutor?"

Lacy grimaced, "Ok, I'll talk to Dad about it. Thanks for letting me stay the night."

"Anytime Lace," Megan's phone began to ring, "I have to go back to work, sorry."

"No sweat Mom," Lacy gave her mum a quick hug, "I'm going to head back to Dad's place. Love you."

"Love you too," Megan whispered.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm having issues with Math at the moment. All out failing Ah well, who needs math when you want to become an engineer right? D:<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok, chapter four I'm liking the whole dream thing, so there's another one in her. STILL 'T' I PROMISE!**

Peter met up with Megan in the lab, just as she was beginning Tom's autopsy. Pulling on a pair of gloves, Peter hastened to join her, redirecting the lights so they shined on Tom's chest.

"Thanks," Megan carefully inserted the scalpel, slowly coaxing the skin open, "All of the vital organs seem to be untainted,"

"We already know that he died from stab wounds," Peter interjected, "We need to see if the killer got careless and left something on the body."

"I have Curtis running some fluid found on both bodies," Megan carefully pried some fabric from one of the stab wounds, "Ethan!"

"Yes Dr Hunt?" the harried doctor rushed into the room, eyes wild, hair flying.

"Can you run this through the mass spectrometer?" Dr Hunt glanced up and took in the state of Ethan, "When you're done your present assignment of course."

"Of course Dr Hunt,"

Megan nodded, dismissing Ethan, and turned her attention back to Tom. The man's body was horribly mutilated; stab wounds covered most of his body. Bruises littered what was left of his skin. Megan's keen eyes swept over the body, assessing and cataloguing. Her lips tightened.

"What is it?" Peter asked.

"There are numerous stab wounds on the body," Megan began, "But most of them are fairly shallow, apart from the fatal on, which severed the aorta. That would mean he bled out in minutes, but _internally._ Think of how much blood there was at the crime scene?"

"Our killer was injured?" Peter realised.

"And badly," Megan agreed, "He'd need the hospital at least."

"I'll get Bud on it," Peter pulled out his phone. A quick conversation later and the two detectives were checking hospital records for patients who had lost a lot of blood. Peter glanced up in time to see Curtis walk out of the room.

"What did Curtis want?" he asked Megan.

"The results on the fluid I found on both Tom and Claire came through," she told him, "It's acrylic,"

"As in the substance people put on their nails?" Peter frowned, "How would that get on both victims?"

"I have no idea," Megan murmured, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, "Acrylic in fluid form isn't particularly common."

"So we're back to square one?" he sighed in frustration, "Anything else?"

"Only that there is an odd texture to both of their skin," Megan shrugged, "As though they had been heated and cooled in seconds?"

"Can acrylic melt?" Peter asked.

"Under extremely high temperature," Megan frowned, "You think the acrylic melted on them?"

"Well, we thought that they both knew something they shouldn't have," Peter explained, "What if they _had_ something they shouldn't have? I'm guessing acrylic melted onto your skin would hurt?"

"Torture?" Megan's eyebrows rose, "I think I'm a bad influence on you, that's more far-fetched than usual?"

"But worth checking out," Peter replied.

"Worth checking out," Megan nodded, pulling on her latex gloves again.

* * *

><p>"Torture?" Bud's incredulous tone resounded through the lab, "Really Peter? I expect this stuff from Dr Hunt, not you."<p>

"It's just a theory," Peter shrugged.

"Just a theory," Bud snorted with disgust.

"Actually, he has a point," Megan snapped, her voice sharp, slicing through the air, "Both victims bear marks of having a hot liquid dripped over them, followed by ice pressed against the burn, resulting in the odd skin texture I found." The doctor moved so that she stood between her partner and the shocked detectives, "Acrylic has been found on both victims, hardened over the skin. The wrists and ankles of both Tom and Claire bear signs of restraint, and Tom has bruising on his neck and cheek from a blow, like a punch or a kick. Even the newest detective could see that these are signs of torture."

Peter hid a grin. When roused, Megan's temper and protective nature would rival anyone, even, or perhaps especially Bud. He felt flattered that she deemed him worthy of her protection, though he supposed that anyone who worked with her also fell under that category, which included Ethan, Curtis and Kate.

Bud mumbled something unintelligible, but nevertheless resigned himself to investigating the torture theory, "So why, do you think, they were tortured?"

"Information," Peter suggested, "Or an object?"

"We'll check it out," Sam affirmed, leading the way out of the lab.

* * *

><p>Peter sighed as he collapsed into his bed that night. Megan had run him ragged, demanding he assist Curtis with the fluids, and then interview Dana Smith about anything Claire had done that was out of the ordinary, and going through Claire's apartment. The only useful thin they'd found was a USB stick with encrypted photos on it, and that her computer hard drive had been wiped. Peter shut the case out of his mind, and instantly fell asleep.<p>

"_Megan," he yelled, his voice hoarse from panic and fear, "Megan!"_

"_You won't see Dr Hunt again," a cold, menacing voice surrounded him, "Or, rather, she'll never see anyone again."_

"_Megan!" the room was bare, steel walls kept him trapped. A burning pain in his shoulder drew his attention; blood seeped from the bullet wound. The voice chuckled, a soft, icy sound that sent shivers down his spin._

"_How does it feel Peter?" the voice asked, "To have lost another partner. I suppose she wasn't a real partner, not being a cop and all."_

"_She is my partner," Peter shouted, "And I haven't lost her. She's not dead! She can't be!"_

"_Look for yourself,"_

_Inexplicably, there was suddenly a body in one of the corners._

No, no, no, no, no,_ Peter chanted in his head, rushing over to the doctor and falling to his knees beside her, "NO!"_

Peter bolted upright in bed, sweat pouring off him, hear thumping faster and harder than he'd ever felt it before.

_Megan!_

He had his phone out and was calling her before his brain caught up with him, and by that time she'd answered.

"Peter?" her voice was tinny on the phone, but it filled him with such relief he almost passed out, "Is everything ok? Peter?"

"Sorry Megan," he lied, "Wrong number."

"Who are you calling at 3am in the morning?" she asked, "Liar. You had a nightmare didn't you? Was it of your shooting?"

"Yes," he lied again, this time more successfully, "Sorry, I didn't really know who I was calling."

"It's ok," there was a pause, "Do you want me to come over?"

"No thanks," he smiled, "I'm good. Goodnight Megan,"

"Good morning Peter," he heard the smile in her voice as she hung up.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5! Sorry it's been a while, I've been in France on holiday. Didn't fail math for those who care, just scraped by with a C!**

* * *

><p>"So, the torture theory looks legitimate," Bud said reluctantly, leaning almost sheepishly against one of the slabs in the lab, "The files found on the USB stick are documents pertaining to a cold case from twenty years ago."<p>

"Really," Peter glanced smugly at Megan, who grinned back, "What was this case about?"

"Corrupt politicians," Bud grimaced in distaste, "The cops at the time didn't have enough evidence to charge the three men suspected of accepting bribes. There were three politicians, but I can't remember their names."

"What were they accused of?" Megan asked.

"A mixture of murder, blackmail, rigging the votes, lying, threats," Sam groaned, "It's gonna take us ages to sift through all this!"

"Why would they be working on this case though?" Peter wondered, "I remember the case from about 10 years back, and it was quite a big one. But they're two university students, not cops!"

"It would explain why Claire's kid wasn't harmed," Bud suggested, "Because hw wouldn't have known anything about the case."

"Claire and Tomg were university students," Megan exclaimed, "They were studying _law_. I'd bet a hundred bucks that their assingment was to find an old case and explain why is was sucessfully or unsuccessfully prosecuted. Peter and I will talk to the University's Law Professor about how they acquired the files on this case," She decided.

"We'll dig further into the case," Sam sighed, "Call you later."

* * *

><p>"For their end of semester project students had to choose an unsolved case from our archives and reason out why the police were unable to prosecute," Professor Mary Frite said, eyes darting nervously around the room, "However, they're not supposed to choose murder cases, for obvious reasons."<p>

"And you don't check the cases that they've chosen to make sure that they are suitable?" Peter asked incredulously, "That seems a bit negligent. Especially since two students are dead, possibly because of the case they were studying."

Mary's eyes flashed in anger, and her accent thickened, "I had nothin' to do with those kids deaths!"

"Why didn't you check their chosen case?" Megan countered, "I talked to the other students and the University's Head, and you should have checked a week ago."

Mary took a step towards Megan, her eyes wild and panicked, "How dare you accuse me of killin' those kids."

"We've accused you of nothing but negligence," Peter growled, standing in front of Megan, muscles tensed.

With an inhumane scream of fury, Mary launched herself at Peter, who effortlessly knocked her to the ground and handcuffed her. Megan had already pulled her phone out and called Sam and Bud, who were ten minutes away.

"That was unexpected," Megan murmured to Peter.

"I'll say," Peter agreed, "She was fine one minute, and then suddenly goes off? It doesn't make sense."

"I'll get a blood sample," Megan decided, "Test it back at the lab."

* * *

><p>"Mary Frite has bipolar disorder," Bud announced, "We found it in her medical file,"<p>

"I found nothing in her blood," Megan agreed, "So it had to be a mental illness."

"It has also provided her with an alibi for the murder," Sam grumbled, "she was at an institution that morning for a check-up."

"We always knew that she wasn't the murderer," Peter shrugged, "This only confirms it. Now we need to find out who knew what case Claire and Tom were working on."

"From what Miss Frite said in her interrogation," Sam shrugged, "Claire and Tom refused to tell anyone what they were working on."

"Well someone must have known," Megan replied, "If we're going on the theory that the case got them killed."

"The people in the investigation," Peter suddenly exclaimed, "Claire and Tom would have had to talk to them if they were investigating the case!"

"Corrupt politicians would have the money to hire a hit-man," Megan added, "As well as the motivation."

"The three politicians were Mary Viner, Timothy Walker, and," Bud paused, hesitant.

"Who is the last one?" Peter asked.

"Judge Joan Hunt," Sam replied.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry it's a short one, suffering a bit of a writer's block at the moment. I'll try and update soon.<strong>


	6. I WILL FINISH THIS STORY SOMEDAY PROMISE

HI ALL (THIS IS AN AUTHORS NOTE NOT A CHAPTER, SEE BELOW WHY)

Ok, I think I really need to apologise. I have always intended to finish this story, but life caught up with me for a bit, and so it's been AGES since I've even thought of it. A message from a recent reader reminded me, and so I would like to thank meterlovealltheway for this. I am currently in exam block, so I won't be doing much this week :P, but I can promise that I will finish this story. Thank you for all of the lovely reviews, and I will see you in about a week!

Jess


	7. Chapter 6

**Just a quick apology chapter (and I mean quick as you will see). Also, thought I should let you all know, as I started this story after the first few episodes of BOP, anything later will probably be disregarded. Kate is still with Todd etc. There is no annoying corpse van driver (grrr). I know I JUST said that I won't be on for a week, but I realised I really do owe you all a HUGE apology. So this is a small part of that sorry.**

"On what charges?" Megan asked.

"Megan-," Peter began hesitantly.

"On. What. Charges." Megan's voice sharpened, her eyes locked on the unfortunate police officer.

"Your basic corruption charges," Bud replied unhappily, "Extortion, fraud, taking bribes. One statement says that Judge Joan hired someone to 'persuade' them not to testify."

"So what do we do?" the ME's temper was only barely held in check, but she knew these people weren't to blame for any of this.

"We can't just barge in without evidence," Sam told her, "We're gonna need some hard facts to tie them to any of this, and that's before we solve Claire and Tom's murder."

"Focus on Claire and Tom first," Peter added, "If we can find the hired killer, we may be able to get him to talk."

"Then I'd best take a second look at the body," Megan quipped, and left quickly.

"Duty calls," Peter grinned ruefully, "Someone has to be the audience."

"Bye," Bud grunted, and turned to his long-time partner, "Well this has become awkward."

"I'll say," Sam agreed, staring after the medical experts, "Who do we need to talk to now."

"Let's run down some of these people," Bud motioned to the cold case files, "See if we can find any that have proof of corruption."

. . .


End file.
